Stand Alone Shower Conversion

[Ptindy]

Good day gentlemen. New to the forum although I have been reading some posts over the last couple weeks trying to get prepped for my renos.

My first question is regarding my ensuite washroom on the second floor of my home. The room is about 8'4" lengthwise and 8 feet across. On one side I have my vanity and toilet and the other a 5 foot shower with 3 feet of shelving floor to ceiling. We only have one tub in the house and the kid has taken it over and now the wife would like to add one in the ensuite.

So my plan would be to take out the existing 5 foot shower and shelving and replace it with a 3 foot stand up and a 5 foot drop in. Also looking at a one piece drop in that would be a 5 foot tub with a 3 foot pan attached. It is not as nice but would save me some tiling work and a few bucks.

The tub will sit where the shower is now and the new shower will sit where the shelves are. Reason being, once I remove the partition wall between the shelves and shower only one of the end walls will be an interior wall where I can put the shower plumbing unless I create another partition but I like the look of a glass enclosure around the shower and the glass pane between the tub and shower.

So I do not have any schematics for the current plumbing but the house was built in 2006 so it is all black ABS. The shower is currently being vent through the exterior wall or on the other side of the bathroom about 5 feet away, not sure. I am assuming the drain line is 2" for a shower.

Is there a way to join a shower and tub into the current drain line assuming they each have their own P-Trap? Also, can they share the vent this line would already have on it? The current drain is in the middle of the 5 foot shower, so approx 2.5 feet from the exterior end wall. I will need a line approx 5 feet from the exterior wall for the new tub and another one 6.5 feet for the shower install.

Next question is for the supply lines. I have pex throughout my house and there is no way to run new lines to the second floor from the manifold in the basement. Can I tee off the existing lines which I assume are 1/2 inch and supply both fixtures? They will rarely get used at the same time and usually once a tub is filled, well, your good to go so I dont think there should be an issure.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Gents.

Mike

[jadnashua]

Each fixture needs its own vent connection - that doesn't mean you can't combine them according to the rules so you only need one penetration (minimum of 42" above the floor or 6" above the flood plane of the fixtures, whichever is higher). There's a limit on how far you can run the trap arm before it is vented - this depends on the diameter of the drain line - smaller=shorter distance allowed.

If you're not planning to use both the tub and shower at the same time, if it was my house, I'd consider putting in something like a 6 or 7' tub/shower combo (tubs generally come in various lengths at 6" increments from 54"). This is big enough to actually soak in rather than a 5' tub that has maybe a 4' well in it. this would also allow you to keep the storage shelves, which is nice to have in the bathroom.

1/2" pex split for the shower and tub would be a poor situation if both were used at the same time. Also, if you have more than one showerhead, it might start to be an issue. The tub will fill slower than if you had 1/2" (or larger) copper pipes. My 6' tub takes about 8-9 minutes to fill with 1/2" pex.

[Ptindy]

Hey Jim, thanks for the quick reply.

I guess my issue with the vent is I may not be able to access it without ripping out my vanity and wall on the other side of the bathroom if that is where it is. So you are
saying both vents can only be combined 6 inches above the flood plane of the tub? maybe I can punch out the wall in the vanity doors and connect it there then.

Yea, I love my standup shower too much but maybe having a combo would solve both supply and vent issues.

I would only have one shower head in the shower. I guess with the cons mentioned above is there any code that would prevent me from teeing off a half inch line?

Cheers and thanks again.
Mike

[jadnashua]

The re-vent must be a MINIMUM of 42" or 6" above the flood plane, whichever is HIGHER.

Your shower will be pretty pathetic if someone is trying to fill the tub at the same time. Otherwise, it should be okay.

[hj]

qquote; Your shower will be pretty pathetic if someone is trying to fill the tub at the same time

To me, 1/2" PEX is "pathetic", unless it is a very short run.